Police Chief Devon Clunis confirmed details on Thursday in the Tina Fontaine murder investigation, saying he found that two Winnipeg police members had contact with Fontaine on Aug. 8, the last day she was seen alive.
CTV News learned Wednesday that police and paramedics made contact with Tina Fontaine, in separate incidents, on that last day the teenager was seen alive in August.
Clunis said he learned of this on Sept. 3, which is when he started an investigation and reassigned the members.
The body of Fontaine, 15, was found in a bag in the Red River in Winnipeg on Aug. 17.
Police spot-checked a car that Fontaine was in on Aug. 8. CTV News is told the man with her was impaired and was taken away by police but Fontaine, who was known to have been reported missing, was let go by police.
Police Supt. Danny Smyth said he is still investigating whether officers acted improperly upon finding a missing person.
"If officers come into contact with a person reported missing, I would expect them to take that person into their care," said Smyth.
It's not clear yet, however, what happened Aug. 8 when the two members encountered Fontaine because the members haven't been interviewed yet, Smyth said.
"If the police were doing their job, I wouldn't be having this conversation with you," said Thelma Favel, Tina's great-aunt and her caregiver for much of her short life.
The same day police let her go, paramedics responded to a call and found a passed out Fontaine in an alley in the 500 block of Ellice Avenue.
She was taken to hospital where she remained under observation for three to four hours.
Favel said she learned Fontaine was released into the custody of an on-call Child and Family Services worker.
According to Favel, that person did not know the address of the foster home or group home where Fontaine had been staying and drove to a CFS office to find out.
Favel said the worker left Fontaine in the vehicle while retrieving the address and that is when Fontaine disappeared for the last time.
Knowing their little girl had so much contact with people whose job it was to help her leaves Joseph and Thelma Favel with many unanswered questions.
"The Winnipeg police had her," said Thelma. "Child and Family Services had her."
"And she fell right through the cracks," added Joseph.
The police officers who allowed Tina to leave after encountering her, a field trainer and his recruit who he was training, are both now on restricted duties and professional standards is investigating.
Officers continue to investigate Fontaine’s murder and anyone with information is asked to contact police.
While police look for Fontaine's killer, other investigations are underway as well, including one at Child and Family Services. Part of it will look at the role social workers played and if their procedures are adequate in the first place.
Manitoba's family services minister said she can't comment on the case because it is an active murder investigation. Kerri Irvin-Ross did say an ongoing internal probe will shed light on whether police and social workers acted properly and if the rules in place on how to deal with the missing teen were followed, and if they are adequate.
- with reports from Alesia Fieldberg, Ben Miljure and Jeff Keele
